Udyr, the Guardian of the Wild
by ceunon
Summary: This is a small story I wrote in the space of a couple of hours, it is about a character from a game I play (League of Legends). I give full credit to Riot Games for creation of the characters used within the story. I have made a new story for this character. Please give feedback and enjoy.


UDYR, GUARDIAN OF THE WILD

The cry of a buzzard.  
The hum of a swarming nest.  
The slithering of tails along the forest floor.

These are all things of the world of Udyr, Guardian of the Wild.

The child known as Udyr was born in an isolated area of the North. The child's existance was mixed with the native  
children of the land, the animals. Udyr knew the howls of the beasts and the calls of the birds before he ever spoke a  
word. He grew up living a free life, able to explore and play in whichever region of the nearby wilderness he desired.  
One day, his life was changed. A spirit appeared in front of the child Udyr and told him he was to continue the ancient  
line of nature protectors, of the Spirit Walkers. The young Udyr became the child's mentor and raised him in whichever  
wild region was in need of protection. Sometimes they lived in the heart of the Southern woods, sometimes the dunes of the  
scorching desert, or in the freezing tundra of the extreme north. The Spirit Walker enjoyed watching Udyr's progress,  
though his mind was clouded - signs were being read that the child's destiny would be harder than most. Of course, the  
fates were not lying. One dark and cloudy night, the Ice Witch came with the intention of destroying Udyr. His mentor  
sacrificed himself to save the young boy. On this night, the (new) Spirit Walker's rage filled the world for the first  
time. The Ice Witch was barely able to escape with her life. After this, both animals and people learned to avoid the  
Spirit Walker's domain. And Udyr was not happy. He missed the company of his fellow animals and longed to feel the thrill  
of the Wild once again. But one day, a stranger known as the Blind Monk dared to enter the Wildman's territory. He  
easily deflected Udyr's blows and explained that he had heard the Spirit Walker had lost his way, and offered a new life to  
Udyr. Udyr contemplated this, and thinking of his unhappiness, came with the Monk. Upon arrival at the Monk's home, an  
ancient monastery infused with the powers of spirits, a new feeling came upon Udyr. The feeling of peace. That night,  
the spirit of Udyr's master appeared in front of him. 'Udyr', the spirit said, 'You must allow yourself to accept the  
spirits you have grown up against, and become the Guardian of the Wild'. That night, Udyr followed his master's advice  
and truly set himself at peace. At once, power filled his veins. The power of four primal animal gods, which imbued him  
with the strength to set out and take his old master's place, as protector of the natural world, as Guardian of the Wild.

This story was told by the Blind Monk, and his word is the only evidence of his existence. For no human has seen the  
wildman since. Until I met him.  
That is the story of Udyr's early life. Now I will tell you the story I myself share with the Protector.

15 years ago I was travelling through the mountains of the far East. I'd been through the region before and I decided  
to take the journey again. Now, you see, up until now the story of Udyr the Animal Protector had been something of a  
myth. Because the only evidence was the Blind Monk's word, nobody knew if it was true or not. So although people didn't  
disbelieve it altogether, the story still wasn't taken too seriously. Anyway, I was on the third day of my journey through  
the great hills and I had stopped to rest just for a couple of hours. I never liked to stay in one spot too long, as the  
Great Mountains were never safe, especially not when the hours neared black. It was better really to travel constantly,  
taking a couple of short breaks per day. On this occasion, I had been eating my meal for the night when I heard a faint  
rustling behind me. Of course, I was prepared - you don't travel most of your life and not pick up a few bits and pieces.  
I pulled out my gun and waited, ready. I was so tense that when the great shadowy figure moved towards my small fire, I  
immediately fired upon it. I sat astounded as I watched the bullet ricochet off with a loud pang! I was expecting some sort  
of armoured monster when a man walked into the light. He was about 7 foot tall and dressed in animal furs (no wonder I  
had thought he was a monster at first). You'd think a man who'd spent almost his entire life in the wilderness would be  
crawling along like a beast, but not Udyr. He could even speak some - if guttural and rarely used - of our language!  
He stared at me, not daring to move in fear, for a long while. Finally he spoke: 'Who... why?', he said in a voice  
that echoed with the voices of others. I told him my name and that I was an explorer moving about as a nomad, always  
looking to explore new places. He stared at me some more with an unyielding gaze. Finally I got up the nerve to sit upright  
and realized that I had been sitting on a poor lizard which looked like its tail was about to drop off. I, always an  
animal lover and one who respected nature, immediately moved off the lizard and picked it up, stroking it once before  
releasing it to scamper away. The towering man's expression softened somewhat and he spoke again, more to himself than  
to me, 'Kind... to friends'. He looked at me and simply said 'Come'. Of course, I obliged, not wanting to anger this  
giant. Udyr (though I hadn't realised yet who he was) took me to his home, a kind of cave in the side of a small nearby  
mountain. You could tell a human lived here - no droppings on the floor, a rough pile of mats I took to be a bed, and  
a warm fire in the middle of the floor. As the days went by, for Udyr seemed as if he had no intention of me leaving at  
least yet, I came to realise two things about the man. The first, of course, was his identity. I recalled the  
old stories and realise that this man had to be no other than the legendary Udyr, the Spirit Walker. The second thing was  
something nobody had found out so far - the spirits of which Udyr had infused with (the reason Udyr referred to himself as  
'we'). The Blind Monk of course, had known, but he kept the ways of his monastery a secret.

These spirits are four. They are the Tiger, who gives Udyr ferocity and speed. They are the Turtle, who armours Udyr with  
enduring protection and regeneration of health. They are the Bear, who gives Udyr strength and size. And they are the  
Phoenix, who gives Udyr the power of the eternal flame.

I first saw these spirits come alive in Udyr when he decided to  
take me hunting (for Udyr knows there must be balance in nature; sometimes the predators must become the prey in order  
to keep things balanced and peaceful). As we moved through the Great Hills, rarely speaking a word, we came across a  
great boar at least 8 feet tall in the air. The Spirit Walker suddenly changed. He became bigger in size, and great mounds  
of hair came across his upper body (Udyr never wore a shirt) and face. His arms became even more powerful, and he gained  
great teeth. Udyr now looked very similar to a bear. He sped across to the boar with a tremendous speed and hit it so hard  
it was literally stunned, unable to move. Udyr changed once again, now he was smaller but had great claws and his skin was  
furry. He attacked the boar with a speed I've never seen before. Now Udyr was as a tiger. The great boar finally recovered  
itself and swung his great tusks straight at Udyr's throat. Udyr changed yet again, now his arms had great claws and a  
green tinge to them. His skin became hard and shell-like. Just before the tusks sliced open Udyr, a great turtle shell  
appeared around him, causing the boar's tusks to bounce right off. I suddenly realised this was how my bullet bounced off  
of him when I first encountered the Guardian. Udyr changed for the last time that day. Now his skin was red and little  
flames curled off him. His arms grew feathers and became like wings, his chest became feathered as well. He went in for  
the final blow, sending a great fist and wave of fire towards the board, incinerating the beast leaving just half a tusk  
lying on the ground. Udyr shrank back to his normal size and became like a human again. He picked up the tusk and  
continued his hunt. That night, as we gnawed on meat of the lizards Udyr had slain, I asked Udyr (who I was a little  
more comfortable with now, 'What is your reason to live, Udyr?'. He replied straight away, which he rarely did, and  
muttered, 'We protect. We serve. We guard. Nature...life'. A few minutes after that, he flatly said to me, 'Leave. And..  
thank you. Lonely. Friend to us'. I bowed and thanked Udyr for his patronage. 'I hope to see you again', I said before  
I quickly left. It wasn't long before I was able to find a local village and stay there for a few days. It was something  
of a relief to be back in human company, but the great animal man had intrigued me. It had dawned on me, of course, that I  
was the only human to see Udyr in a hundred years.

I tried to prove his existence to the group that had originally been interested in him years and years ago, the Goran,  
but they wouldn't believe me. I'd travelled straight from the village to the great steel city where this group resided but  
I was called a fool and made fun of. 'Udyr is just a myth, told by that blind fool of a monk'. I gave my story and told  
of how the man transformed into half man- half animal, but nothing would convince them. I even thought about writing to the Monk,  
until I remembered he'd gone to live in a far region nobody dared to go to. I despaired that night, for  
I really wanted the world to know that such a mighty and great beast was out there. I didn't want them to intrude on  
his life, but I felt that people should at least believe his story, take him seriously. I even prayed to the High Gods that  
I would have some way of proving his existence, but then I realised I was being silly. Why would the High Gods care what  
I thought? They didn't concern themselves with the actions of people. Then I remembered that the spirits Udyr was  
joined with were gods. Primal gods. So I prayed to them. I asked the great Spirits of the Tiger, Turtle, Bear and  
Phoenix that if I tried one more time to convince the Goran that Udyr really was out there, they would help me.

A few days after my prayer to the primal gods, I once again stood in front of the members of the Goran. I could tell they  
were getting bored with my antics, they didn't want to know about old legends. They group had become corrupted, all they  
were concerned with money now. They had become shameful. Once again, I told my story, and once again, I was laughed at,  
told I was a buffoon and to go home. This was my last chance. I asked for a brief reprieve, and during my time away from  
the group I mentally cried out to the gods, asking them to help me, or I would be forever humiliated and doomed, and Udyr  
would always be alone, always unnoticed and uncredited by the world. As I came back into the room where the Goran sat,  
I tried a drastic measure, getting desperate now. I asked one of the high members, who was also a sorcerer, to conjure  
up a great hound, one which would eat me as soon as the sorcerer let him go of his spell. There were two possible outcomes:  
Udyr would hear my call and come to save me, or I would be eaten alive by this monstrous hound. As the hound appeared,  
I cried out what would be my last thoughts ever: 'Udyr! Come!'. The hound was released. Just as the great teeth of the  
hound came down to pierce my stomach and end my life forever, a great bear rushed through the door and attacked the dog  
with the same stunning blow I had seen those many months earlier. I watched, overjoyed, as Udyr took down the great beast  
with the power of the animals, Tiger, Turtle, Bear and Phoenix. As the great beast fell, slashed to pieces by Udyr's claws,  
I looked upon the expressions of the Goran. All of them wore the same look - utter awe and astonishment.

Thanks to the actions of Udyr that night, I have been allowed to write this tale. This is the tale of Udyr, the Spirit  
Walker. If ever in the wild, be kind to animals. For you could gain a great friend if you do. But if you ignore this  
advice, you could become prey of Udyr Guardian of the Wild, whose fury is wild. Your death will only feed his rage.


End file.
